'Project Hope' Screening

The Oscar®-winning documentaries of 1961 and 1962 will screen on Monday, September 18, at 7:30 p.m., in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' Linwood Dunn Theater as the kick-off to “Oscar's Docs, Part Two: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1961-1976.” The 11-week series showcases the short and feature-length documentaries honored each year by the Academy.

In 1961, Project Hope took home the Oscar for Documentary Short Subject for its chronicling of the maiden voyage, in 1960, of the hospital ship SS Hope. A 16mm print which had suffered complete color fading, was used as the basis for a digital restoration of the film, making it the first fully digital restoration project funded by the Academy Film Archive. A new 35mm print of Project Hope was created from the restored elements and will screen courtesy of Klaeger Films.

Le Ciel et la boue / The Sky Above – The Mud Below, which received the Academy Award for Documentary Feature in 1961, follows French filmmaker Pierre-Dominique Gaisseau's 1959 expedition through the island of New Guinea. The seven-month adventure exposed a marked contrast between the superb aerial photography made possible by the technology of the outside world, and the seemingly “prehistoric” rituals of the indigenous population. A new 35mm print, courtesy of Arthur Cohn, one of the film's Oscar-winning producers, and Rank Films, will be screened.

The 1962 Oscar winner for Documentary Short Subject, Dylan Thomas, uses film to translate the poet's words into a visual language. Director Jack Howells, a former schoolmaster, used images to mirror Thomas' words and to explore the world of the writer himself. Actor Richard Burton serves as both a surrogate Dylan on screen and a commentator off screen. A 35mm print of Dylan Thomas, preserved by the Academy Film Archive and presented courtesy of Janus Films, will be screened.

The medieval tale of Reynard the Fox and the rise of the Nazi Party are intricately connected in the 1962 Academy Award-winning Documentary Feature Black Fox: The True Story of Adolf Hitler. Narrated by Marlene Dietrich, the film cuts back and forth between historical images of Hitler's rise and Wilhelm von Kaulbach's 1846 illustrations of the fable. A new 35mm print, preserved by the British Film Institute and presented courtesy of Image Productions, will be screened.

Passes for “Oscar's Docs, Part Two: Academy Award-Winning Documentaries 1961-1976” are available at a cost of $30 for the general public and $25 for Academy members and students with valid ID. Tickets for individual evenings of the series are available for $5 for the general public and $3 for Academy members and students with valid ID. Passes and tickets may be purchased by mail, in person at the Academy during regular business hours or, pending availability, the night of the screening when the doors open at 6:30 p.m. The Academy's Linwood Dunn Theater is located at 1313 Vine Street in Hollywood. For more information call (310) 247-3600.

Leave a comment about ''Project Hope' Screening'

COMMENTING RULES: It would be a waste of time to disagree with and/or be deeply offended by the presentation of factual information. On the other hand, it's perfectly okay to disagree with and/or be deeply offended by the views & opinions found on this site.

Just bear in mind that *thoughtfulness* and *at least a modicum of sanity* are imperative.

In other words: Feel free to add something reasonable & coherent – AND fact-based – to the discussion.

Spammy, abusive/bigoted, trollish/inflammatory, baseless (spreading misinformation, whether intentionally or not), and/or just plain demented comments will be zapped and offenders may be banned.